The Fragile Lives of Hearts and Souls
by x-Roxas-x
Summary: Basically this is how my characters Lia and Zeke first met, and their lives before 'Harrowed Hearts'. Not your average Kingdom Hearts fanfic. Read and Review please.
1. First Meeting

Author Note: Hello and welcome to The Fragile Lives of Hearts and Souls. This is my first time really sticking my neck out on the line like this, submitting my stories for all to see... but eh. Whatever. Hopefully I don't suck too bad Anyway, this doesn't mention anything Kingdom Heartsy just yet... but this chapter is NECESSARY to the story, you hear me? So don't skip it just because there's nothing fan-fictionish about it yet. You'll get your KH fix soon enough.

Oh, and this won't be your average KH fanfic, either. In all reality, I only use the Kingdom Hearts universe, and rarely the characters. Although, don't be discouraged, some do make appearances later on.

Edit: Decided to change Zeke's age. Hehe.

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"Jerome! I see you behind those bushes, now come out already!" a small boy yelled, pointing at the shrubbery in question. A loud groan of disappointment could be heard as a small shape stood up from the bush and walked over to join him. "What is it with you, Zeke? Even at night you can still spot us a mile away! I bet you could even spot the Wind Girl if you wanted to!"

The boy smiled and scratched his messy black hair sheepishly at the prospect of catching the fabled Wind Girl, a ghost who stole from the Village from time to time in revenge for its mistreatment in life. "Well… I dunno…"

The truth was that Zeke could always seem to see things others couldn't. Maybe he was just more observant than others, or maybe he was gifted with better eyesight, but better eyesight didn't always explain the things he saw that others didn't. For example: once he saw a thin old man, dressed in rags, walking down the middle of the marketplace and moaning about food, his sunken eyes wide, glaring skyward. Zeke had asked his mother what the man was doing and pointed him out, but his mother never saw him, even when they were right up close to him. Another time, he saw a pale little girl with ratty black hair and a tattered grey dress by a food cart, stretching for a plump mango which was just beyond her reach. He had asked why no one was helping her get the fruit, but his mother had just pushed him onwards, telling him to be quiet. After awhile he stopped telling people what he saw… except, of course, if it meant winning a game of Hide and Seek. Otherwise, he kept his mouth shut, knowing that no one else could see what he could.

Zeke counted up the group, its members shuffling about in the dark. "Okay, that's everyone… Maia, I found you first, so you're it." He grinned and ran off, knowing exactly where he wanted to hide.

Up the trail there was a large blackberry bush growing in the gap in-between two large oak tree roots; the perfect place for a small nine-year-old to hide. He smiled joyfully and crawled down between the bark and branches, undaunted by the thorns and brambles scraping up against his shirt and pants.

He sat there for many minutes, smiling to himself at the pure genius of this hiding spot. Eyeing the dark fruit hungrily, he reached out with his grubby hands, taking bits of blackberry and stuffing them into his mouth greedily. Spotting a particularly plump berry, he reached out carefully to take it. He grabbed it and recoiled in horror, realizing he had accidentally grabbed a pale white hand reaching for the same exact berry. Yelping and jumping back out of the bush, he effectively startled the owner of the foreign hand, who stumbled over a rock behind them, landing rear-first into the dirt. He stood fully upright and stared at his surprise guest. She looked up at him with blatant fear in her eyes, her ratty ink-black hair an eerie contrast against her ivory skin. "Hey… I know you…" he said, stepping towards her. Her breathing sped up; she scooted away from him, obviously frightened out of her wits. He knelt down and held out his hand. "I won't hurt you. I promise I won't."

She placed a hand over her heart, looking up at him with a melancholic expression. He smiled in an attempt to get her to do so. "What's your name?" he asked.

She stared down at his feet, unresponsive. He was unsure if she even understood English at this point. "I'm Zeke." He said, pointing towards himself. "Zee-ke."

"When people see me, they call me Wind Girl." She whispered, avoiding eye contact. "But my mother called me Lia."

He blinked in surprise. This was Wind Girl? "You're the ghost?" She shook her head. "I'm not a ghost. Sometimes I wish I was, though. Things would be easier that way." She stuck a squished blackberry in her mouth, sucking the juice before swallowing the pulp.

Zeke's eyebrows furrowed in thought. This girl was morbidly thin, but obviously not dead. His face softened, curiosity piqued. Scooting closer to her, he said, "I saw you once. You were trying to get food from a cart at the marketplace, but you couldn't reach."

Her head snapped up in horror. Zeke pursed his lips, realizing he was saying the wrong things in order to obtain friendship. "Where do you live?" he asked, changing the subject.

Instead of pointing down towards Starlight Valley like he assumed she would, she pointed in the opposite direction, up a steep hill. He peered through the trees, spotting a cave in that direction. His eyes widened in surprise. "A cave? What?"

"My mom and dad… are gone." She whispered softly. "I don't have a home like you do." She fingered the battered lace at the end of her dress absently.

"How do you steal food?"  
"You saw how."

Zeke couldn't believe it. So many questions flooded his mind. Why didn't he know about this, why didn't anyone take her in, why wasn't anyone doing anything about this? Why did everyone say she was a ghost, when she obviously wasn't?

"You're a thief?"

"When I feel like it." She said softly. "I come here to eat too. This bush always has the best berries." She smiled. Zeke grinned in agreement. "Yeah."

Lia gasped suddenly, looking past Zeke to the trail. The sound of his friends getting closer alerted his attention. He looked over his shoulder, then back to her. "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure one of us can take you home. Wait here! I want you to meet my friends…"

"No!" she said sharply, terrified. She stood and took off into the woods without a second thought.

"Hey! Wait, don't go!" Zeke said, pushing himself to his feet and taking off after her. "I can help you…" he trailed off. She had vanished. He grunted and kicked the dirt, shoving his hands in his pockets. Something small and red caught his eye in the dirt not much farther ahead; he picked it up to examine what it was. _Strange…_He ran a hand over the object, feeling the details. It was dusty and chipped on one end, but there was no mistaking what it was: an earring, crafted in the shape of a rose. He looked up to the cave and pocketed the earring. It was his only proof that he had met the Wind Girl.

A sandy-haired girl ran up to him and tagged his shoulder. "Gotcha! You thought you could hide forever! I caught you!"

Zeke stared up at the cave, only half listening. "Yeah. You caught me." He muttered.


	2. Rescue

Author's Note: Hello again. You have made your way to Chapter II of the prequel chaps. There will only be one more prequel chapter before we get into the actual Heart Series. It's necessary to have this kind of thing, so... just read and review, mmk?

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Zeke was distracted. He found his daily thoughts wandering constantly back to the girl from the forest, known to him as Lia, known to everyone else as Wind Girl. He knew he could and should help her, but he didn't know how. She probably wouldn't come back to Starlight Valley with him, due to her discomfort around people. He pulled out another blade of grass in his front yard, searching his brain for an answer, twirling it absently. Could he possibly bring her food? Yes, of course. She probably hadn't had a hot meal since… probably ever. Standing to stretch his previously crossed legs and grinning broadly, he went inside to see what they had by way of leftovers. He would help her in whatever way he could. 

He snuck out at nightfall, carrying the newly reheated mixture of rice, chicken, and vegetables under his arm in a covered bowl. He walked until he reached the rock wall separating him from the cave. "Lia?" he called. "Lia, are you there?" he placed the bowl on a rock before pulling himself up. "Liaaaa…" He reached up to grab the next rock.

Someone cleared their throat behind them. Zeke jumped almost a foot in the air in surprise, grasping the stone he had planned to climb to regain his balance. He turned, expecting an adult. "Lia!" he yelped, recognizing the girl. He sighed in relief. Had she been standing there the whole time? She was watching him with a confused look on her face, her head tilted to the side, her hands clasped behind her back. "What are you doing?" she asked, blinking with an air of bewilderment. He sighed and grabbed the bowl, holding it out to her. "I brought you some warm food. It's chicken, and it's really good."

Lia stared at the bowl in apparent surprise. She looked up at him, not knowing if he was being sincere or not. "Take it!" he said, grinning. "You'll like it."

She took it hesitantly, sitting down to examine its contents. "Chicken? Where does that grow?"

Her words surprised him. He then realized: the only food she had ever had was whatever she could take from the markets: fruits and vegetables. She probably couldn't hunt very well, either; after all she only looked about seven or eight. "Chicken is meat." He explained, sitting down across from her. "It tastes a lot different from fruit. Eat it."

She pulled back the plastic wrapping covering the bowl and examined it, smelling it and staring back and forth from the clear wrapping to the steam rising from the rice and chicken. Her stomach growled hungrily, she had obviously not gone foraging yet. Zeke leaned against the stone wall and watched, curious as to what she would do. She reached in and took the metal spoon he had placed in there for her. She smelled it, then stuck it in her mouth and tried to bite it, but quickly took it back out. Handing it over to him, she said plainly, "You can eat that."

Zeke smiled and laughed softly, pocketing the spoon, amazed by how much she didn't know. Scooping up the flavored rice with her hands, she placed the whole handful in her mouth. Her eyes lit up, smiling in satisfaction. She gulped down the remaining contents greedily, running a finger around the rim of the bowl to get the last bits of sauce. Zeke held out his hand to take the bowl. She licked her lips. "Thank you." She whispered, "This means so much…" her voice trailed off. She let out a slow growl of pain, placing a hand over her heart and leaning forward, grimacing. Zeke placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked. She began to tremble. "Go home… Go." She said, her voice getting fainter than normal.

"What?" Zeke said. Her head snapped up, she was obviously forcing back tears. "Go! Y-You don't want to see me like this." She closed her eyes and swallowed thickly.

"See you like what?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

She moaned, determined to hold in the pain she was experiencing. She hadn't told this boy yet, but her body wasn't the only weak thing about her. Her heart wasn't as strong as it probably should be, and every so often it would torment her with pains so fierce she was usually reduced to nothing but sobs and screams. "It hurts…" she whimpered. "Zeke… it hurts…"

"Your heart?" he said, reaching out to move her hand. She gripped the fabric tighter, not wanting to let him past. "Please don't touch it." She snapped. Her head shot backwards as she let out a scream, not completely out of pain and terror but of frustration. She didn't want to scare off her new friend, yet she knew she was doing so.

He scooted back, petrified. He needed to help her, but what could he do? She screamed again, louder, but she bit short, clenching her teeth. Zeke gritted his teeth and stood up. "We need to get you help." He said, walking over and scooping her up. She had looked light for her size, but her weight was frighteningly lighter than even what he predicted. It was like carrying a feather, he decided. She wrapped her arms around his neck, interlocking her fingers together. Every so often a tremor of pain would rattle through her, causing her grip to tighten and another yell to burst past her lips. She held to Zeke for dear life as he made his way into town.

It was easily midnight, probably later, but he had to find the doctor and quickly. Running up to the house he and his mother had often visited for shots, medicine, and the like, he placed Lia carefully on the porch before turning to knock on the door loudly. "Ms. Barnaby!" he called. "Ms. Barnaby, please, this is an emergency!" He hammered again, louder. "Help!"

No one answered, nothing changed. The lights in the house remained off. "Help us!" he cried louder. Enough was enough. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it roughly. It wouldn't budge, the door was locked. The doctor was gone, perhaps? He turned around to glance at Lia, who was hugging her knees, crying silently. "Why- don't- they- ever- help?" she said in-between short gasping hiccups, tears rolling down her cheeks like raindrops. Zeke sat down beside her and held her, the total helplessness of the situation affecting him greatly. "Please don't cry. It'll be okay, just wait, just don't cry…" he said, although he wasn't exactly sure who the words were directed at, her or him.

The pain was subsiding gradually; soon it was enough so Lia didn't have to yell anymore. Every so often she would grimace, but that was all now. Her breathing eventually calmed, her eyes closing in soft, exhausted slumber. Zeke brushed her hair from her face, pondering what he should do next. Take her to his house, or back to her cave? No, he couldn't do that to her. Leaving her on that cold stone wouldn't be right. So, he scooped her up and began his walk home. _Hopefully Mom doesn't notice one of her bowls is missing_, he thought with a frown. _Or the fact that there's a girl at our house. Yeah, hopefully she won't notice that either._

Pushing open their front door exhaustedly, he walked over to their couch and placed her down on the soft dark-purple cushions. He grabbed a thick blanket and draped it over her before trudging down the hall to his room. He could barely pull on his pajamas before slinking into bed, noting the glowing red 2:42 on his clock before basically passing out on his pillow.

-----

Several hours later, Lia opened her eyes groggily. She snuggled into the blanket, she was so warm… wait, warm? Blanket? Where was she? She sat up, her eyes darting around. Her breath quickened, the last question buzzing around her head like an angry fly. Where was she, where was she?

She stood, her feet light on the wood floor. Tiptoeing around, she tried to get hints as to where she was. Peering out the window, she didn't see a porch, so this wasn't the doctor's house… She walked down a hallway without a sound, peering in one of the open doorways.

Curled up in a dark-blue comforter was Zeke. She sighed, slightly more relieved. But the sun was coming up, she had to get back to the forest before the activity was too much for her… and she didn't know if Zeke's parents would enjoy knowing there was a foreign girl hiding in their house. She tiptoed up to him and brushed his bangs, thanking whatever Gods were above for this boy who had helped her so much.

She made her way to the front door and opened it softly, knowing now would be the best time to leave. Glancing back at the couch, she wondered if she was making the wrong decision. Maybe she should stay. After all, if Zeke was nice, how bad could his parents be? She pursed her lips; then tiptoed back to the couch. _Sorry, Zeke…_

Scooping up the blanket, she took off out the door in a flash, making her way towards her safe, secure hovel. _Zeke wouldn't mind_, she thought to herself as she sprinted as fast as she could, _after all, he would probably have given it to me later, right_?


	3. Separation

Author's Note: Welcome to Chapter III!

LOOK! points Kingdom Hearts stuff! You found it after all. Told you this chapter would have some…

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Zeke and Lia met for the next few weeks. Zeke would sneak out food of some sort, trying to bring new stuff every night, and Lia would listen to him talk as she ate. He would talk about anything: what happened at the village today, his friends, his family… Lia enjoyed listening to him; it seemed he never ran out of things to say. Soon they became closer than any other friend either of them had.

One night, as Zeke was walking up to the cave, a sandwich and a small bag of chips under one arm; something caught his eye in the darkness. He stopped to stare at it. Two yellow orbs of light were looking at him through the leaves of a bush. He blinked and tilted his head. Fireflies? Shivers ran up his spine as the lights mirrored his action. The owners of the lights scuffled forward, claws scraping against leaves noisily. Zeke's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at a little black animal with long curled ears, its bright eyes remaining focused on him as well. Suddenly, it flattened itself, winding its way towards him soundlessly. He gasped, dropping the food, and backed away from it, never having seen anything do that before. After awhile it paused and inflated itself again, glowing eyes never leaving his body. It leaned forward, nodding its head and shifting its weight as if it were nervous about something, leaves crackling underfoot once more. Suddenly, it snapped its head away from him, looking through the trees as if it had heard a loud noise. It looked back at Zeke momentarily before turning again and shooting off into the darkness.

Zeke stood there for a second, trying to sort out what had just happened. Suddenly, he heard a high-pitched scream, coming from where the animal had raced off. His heart skipped a beat. _Lia!_ He took off. _Not again_, he thought. Witnessing one of her heart attacks was painful enough, but having to go through it all over again… He hoisted himself up the rocks as fast as he could go. Reaching the cave, he froze in surprise.

Lia wasn't having an attack, but she wasn't in the best of shape either. She was backed up against a wall, surrounded by eight of the same little black monsters from before. She was covered with black cuts, some of them deeper than others. Blood was oozing from a few of them. The girl looked over to him and gasped in surprise and relief. Zeke bent over, picking up a large rock roughly the size of his head. "Leave her alone!" he cried, chucking it in their direction.

They all turned to look at him as he lobbed the rock at them. The rock landed squarely on one of the black things, but rather than making an impressive squishing noise like the ones made when killing a large bug, it made a hissing noise as it dissolved into black dust. Zeke wasted no time getting more ammo, hucking rocks at the remaining animals. He managed to hit most of them, but the ones that were smart enough to dodge the rocks were proving more troublesome. Zeke, quickly running out of easily accessible grenades, decided to pick up a large stick and use it as a sword to fight these smarter ones. He smiled and ran at the remaining monsters, thrashing at them like he was born doing it.

Lia had escaped to the back of the cave when she had gotten the chance, hiding behind a large stalagmite. She licked at her wounds to clean them. She had gotten cuts before, but she never had anything like these. The blackish-blue skin was frightening her, she wondered if the skin would always be that color.

Zeke eventually conquered the beings, whatever ones he didn't destroy he managed to knock out of the cave to the rocks below. He looked over the forest, spotting bits of movement through the trees. There were more of them, and they were coming up fast. In the distance, he spotted Starlight Valley. A sickening jolt ran through his stomach. Would they attack there? He hoped that they could manage to fight them off as he had.

Not hearing any activity, Lia peered out from behind the stalagmite. She watched Zeke, standing at the edge of the cave. "Zeke?" she squeaked. He turned as she crawled out. "A-Are they gone?"

He nodded. She bowed her head, sighing in relief. "There are more out there." He said. "We've gotta do something."

Lia looked up at him and shook her head, eyes wide with fright. She stood and motioned to herself. "Do you see what they did? No way am I going out there!"

"Well then, you stay here." He said simply, shrugging. He knelt down and began his descent. Lia stared for a moment then ran forward to stop him. "No!" she said, grabbing his wrist. "Don't go! They'll kill you! You can stay here with me, stay here, please!" she pleaded. "I-I can show you the rest of the caves, it's really big and exciting, please, just don't go down there…"

Zeke looked up at her waveringly. Growls alerted his attention; he looked down to see more of the glowing-eyed beings down at the bottom. Fear spread through him. He looked back up, a resolution reached. "Okay. I'll stay." He said, scrambling back up. Standing, he took her hand. "Take me into the caves, and whatever you do, don't look back." He said. She nodded, confused at his conditions, but she obeyed anyway. She led her into the back of the cave as darkness enfolded the both of them.

Lia knew the caves by heart, having explored them time after time on her own. A growling, scratching sound alerted her attention, but Zeke kept a firm grip on her shoulder. "Don't look back, just keep going. Faster." He said sternly, picking up their pace. Lia swallowed thickly, her curiosity begging her to turn around and look, but she refused to do so.

They walked until Lia ran smack into something solid. She squeaked and felt whatever it was. It was wooden, like a door, but there was no knob or keyhole or anything. "This wasn't here before… This isn't supposed to be here..." she whimpered, hammering on it. Zeke turned his head and gulped as many tiny orbs of light were visible in the distance, getting bigger and closer by the second. He turned back and blinked. A large keyhole was now noticeable in the door, illuminating the cave. Lia was still feeling over it as if they were still in the dark. "Lia, it's right there." He said. "What?" she replied, "Where?"

"You don't---" He paused as the thought dawned on him, "You don't see it." He whispered. It was another thing that only he could see. Zeke clenched his fist. He was tired of this, tired of running, tired of seeing things that no one else could! He turned and faced the monsters, then blinked as a second light appeared. He held up his hand, realizing the light was coming from it. The light elongated and changed shape, forming a large key that fit snugly in his hand. He blinked in surprise, letting it clink to the floor as its weight brought it to the ground. Lia stared at it. "What _is_ that?" she said in awe. Zeke grunted, trying to lift it. He held it up, but it was difficult to keep in the air and it quickly fell to the ground again. "I dunno." He said, looking up to notice that the black things had stopped. He swung it about, they backed up, apparently terrified by the large key. He grinned. "They don't like it, whatever it is."

He turned to stare at the keyhole. Large keyhole, large key… it all fit, quite literally. He held the key to it, the keyhole shimmering brightly. Lia gasped, seemingly noticing the keyhole for the first time. The things apparently regained their bravery as Zeke turned his back on them, they quickly flooded the area. Lia screamed as the animals pushed past her to get to the door. Zeke dropped the key in surprise as the beings tripped him in their attempts to push past. He picked himself up and stared as the black animals flooded the keyhole, squeezing inside it like cats through a cat door. A bright light flooded the cave, Zeke experiencing a very scary sense of premonition as it did so. He pushed past to Lia and grabbed her arms, knowing without understanding why that something incredibly bad was about to happen. His heart sped up in a small bout of panic. What _was_ happening?

"Lia, whatever happens, we will see each other again. I promise!" he said as a shudder rocked the earth beneath them.

The girl looked up in fright. "What's going to happen?" she cried, tears filling her eyes.

"I don't know!" The cave walls began to crack and split, emitting more light. Lia screamed and clung to Zeke. "What's happening?"

Then, a ripple of energy pulsed through the door. The entire cave cracked, giving way to the light. They and the many animals left behind were set adrift. Soon, the animals dissipated, breaking up into clouds of the same black dust.

Lia hugged Zeke tightly, not wanting to float away. "Where are we?"

"I don't know." He said, looking around. Eyes settling back on his friend, he gasped as Lia began to fade out in his arms. "Lia?"

She cried out in panic. "Zeke, don't go!" but she had already vanished into the whiteness.

"Lia!" he cried in anguish, tears coming to his own eyes. Everything dear to him was gone now. He growled in anger. What had happened, what was happening, why? He had absolutely no answers to reassure him that it would all work out in the end.

The light around him vanished, sucked down into oblivion to be replaced by the darkness. Zeke felt out, trying to find Lia, calling out her name every so often. No one would respond. He was lost in dark, without a light to comfort him.

Something cold and wet drenched him, and soon colors began to fade in. He thrashed out, fighting to bring himself back to reality.

"Calm down, boy, you're going to hurt yourself!" A female voice with a strange accent rang in his ears. He opened his eyes and stared up into a woman's face. She had dusky blue eyes and brown hair, and she was smiling agreeably. "Well, it's about time you woke up!" she said brightly. He groaned and pushed himself to his feet, looking around. "What… Where am I…?"

"Why, you're in a jungle, young man!" she said, standing up and brushing off the dust on her red skirt. "My name is Jane." She said, holding out a hand to help him up. He took it and stood, brushing off dust as well. "Zeke." He muttered, staring up into the lush canopies. "How'd I get here?"

"Well…" she said. "I don't really know. Last night, I spotted a shooting star, larger than any star I'd ever seen, and today I followed it to see if it had landed anywhere, and I found you instead."

He rubbed his head; then looked at the hand he had scratched it with, realizing he was holding something. Enclosed in it was a small rose earring. His eyes widened as the previous night's events resurfaced. Those animals… that key… the light… "Lia!" he cried, looking around. "Lia! Where are you?"

"Who?"

"A-A girl, she was with me, and we were fighting off these monsters, and there were too many, and bright light and now she's gone… Lia!" he blurted, running off through the trees.

Jane stared after him and then began to chase him down as she realized she would soon lose him. "Wait, what? Monsters? Hey, slow down!" she said, catching up to the boy and grabbing his arm. He fought against her, trying his hardest to break her grip, but she wouldn't let go. "Stop this right now and talk to me!" she said. Zeke stopped struggling, his arm extended by her grip. He sighed. "A girl, about this high, black hair, gray eyes, re-eally skinny?" He placed a hand at his chest then looked at her hopefully. She shook her head. "I can have Tarzan go out and look for her, if you'd like."

He blinked. Tarzan? What an odd name. He nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay. Let's go back to camp and get you cleaned up." She said, smiling cheerfully. She released his arm and began walking back to camp.

-----

Lia awoke groggily in the arms of something brown and hairy. She groaned softly; then realized what was happening, screaming and lashing out in terror. The thing grunted in surprise as she jumped to her feet and turned to stare at whatever had been carrying her. She backed away in shock as she took in the features of a huge beast. He walked on two legs, but everything else about him screamed 'quadruped'. Easily seven feet tall, with a large jaw line and overbite complete with pointed teeth, claws, a bushy tail and horns, it all added up to one thing: scary monster who can eat you alive.

It was staring at her with a puzzled look on its face. She backed away, her breath quick and harried. She looked around the courtyard, the memories of last night's events sprung fresh in her mind. "What did you do with Zeke!" she screamed at it. Its head snapped back, possibly even more perplexed than before. "Zeke?" he growled in a low bass voice.

She stared at him, not expecting that type of answer. "H-He… You…" she inhaled sharply, biting back tears. Everything was so confusing!

"Are you alright?" A female voice said from behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see a woman stepping out from behind large doors, walking lightly down the steps to her. She stood and backed away from the both of them. "Where am I?" she cried.

"Beast, who is she?" the woman asked softly, looking at the monster for answers.

"Found her on the bridge." He growled. "Now I'm sort of wishing I hadn't."

"Are you lost?" the woman asked, her dark brown eyes locking on Lia's gray. The girl sniffed, rubbing her nose with her hand. "Yes."

"Where do you live?"

Lia was silent. "Nowhere." She said finally. The woman glanced over at Beast. "Well… We have plenty of room here…"

"No we don't." Beast growled, turning to walk towards the castle. Belle frowned and turned; her hands on her hips. "If she doesn't stay, I don't stay." She stated simply

Beast froze. "I hate it when you threaten me like that." He grumbled. "Fine. She stays in your room. That's final." He walked into the castle without another word.

The woman's face softened as she turned back to the girl. "Sorry about him." She said, smiling apologetically. "He's a little grumpy at times. My name is Belle."

"L-Lia." She said softly. Belle walked up to her and hugged her before placing a hand on her back and leading her towards the doors. "You'll be fine. We have lots of food, and I think you'll like the people we have here. Beast takes some time to get used to, but you'll see, we usually have a splendid time---"

"Do you know a Zeke?"

"No… I don't think so…"

Lia frowned. Her heart ached at the loss of her first and only friend. She recalled his promise thoughtfully. _Whatever happens, we will see each other again... _She placed her hand into her dress pocket, reaching for her only possession: her pair of rose earrings which she had found one day in the village. Her hand clasped one, but the other was missing. Her eyes widened in surprise. She had lost one? Pulling out the one, she ran her finger over it thoughtfully. She would never lose this one, she thought. Never.

Lia looked to the gray cloudy sky, clutching the earring. _We will see each other again…I promise._


End file.
